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Date

22 Feb 2016

Sections

Agriculture & Food

Press release

(Brussels, 22 February 2016) Speaking today at the High Level Conference on Food Product Improvement organized by the Netherlands Presidency, Gilles Morel, President of FoodDrinkEurope welcomed the publication of the “Roadmap for Action on Food Product Improvement”.

“We welcome this Netherlands Presidency initiative which will position product formulation high on the EU policy agenda. We look forward to share our industry experiences and activities and constructively contribute. Our industry has significant experience in this area and has a record of delivering meaningful results. With the right conditions and support we believe that working together against a shared ambition we can drive more meaningful change.”

“We support the Roadmap’s emphasis on public-private collaboration and exchange at EU level” added Morel. “It recognizes the need for national governments, food business operators, the European Commission, the WHO and NGOs to coordinate their action, which is positive.”

Morel underlined the opportunity that this Netherlands Presidency initiative presents a platform to co-ordinate national initiatives at EU level where possible and where it makes sense, while also taking into account the local context: national habits, diets and consumer preferences.

“We welcome the idea that industry initiatives should be supported by nutrition campaigns and special programmes for Small & Medium sized enterprises that are often less equipped than larger multinationals to initiate reformulation activities”

Formulation and innovation is a way forward for the food and drink industry, which has already taken many steps to develop newly formulated products, both as part of its commitments to the EU Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health since 2005, and via individual company/sector initiatives [1].

Note to the editors:FoodDrinkEurope is the organization of Europe’s food and drink industry, the largest manufacturing sector and leading employer in the EU and a key contributor to its economy (286 000 companies – 9 in 10 SMEs, 4.2 million employees).